INTRODUCTION
The chapter By the People: Becoming a Practitioner of Democracy by Kenneth Winston discusses the quest of staying true to personal beliefs while establishing a career and achieving goals. Winston addresses the story of Aruna Roy’s career path and quest for equality in India. Roy has a strong passion for human rights in India, and she sought to raise the voices of the rural poor. Roy stopped at nothing to ensure that her morals, ethics and beliefs were not sacrificed in the name of a job security or the safety of an organization’s reputation. As a result, we see in this chapter, Roy’s ‘non-linear’ career path that includes changes in organizations and living situations. Roy takes a very particular approach to provide justice for Indians, in that she lives with the poor community that she is reaching out to. Her strategy for change provides insight into the personal connections in a community that help to attain change in governmental accountability, transparency, and economic justice. All the while, we watch Aruna shape her personal life and maintain personal integrity. Her courageous acts leave the reader
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Roy is an exceptional case; she committed not just time and effort to a cause she believed in, but her whole being. The disadvantage of this strategy is that not everyone is capable of this lifestyle. It takes a particular type of person to implement this strategy. Take the former Uruguayan president, José Mujica, for example who is known for his down to earth approaches to governance. Mujica’s choice to live a simple life although he is capable of living a lavish one is seen as a rare capability. In my opinion, one can be very passionate about a cause but not many people are ready to adapt and sacrifice the way Roy and Mujica do. Aruna changed her urban life to a simple village life. She lived with no electricity and no drinking water at some times, possibly putting her own health at
In the text book “Living Democracy,” by Daniel M. Shea, Joanne Connor Green, and Christopher E. Smith, it defines that checks and balances, “a system in our government where each branch (legislative, executive, judicial) has the power to limit the actions of others. For example, even though President Obama announced a decision to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in December 2009, it did not automatically mean that Congress would appropriate the funds necessary to carry out the plan” (Shea, Green, and Smith 25). There are three branches that are shared but also are limited by each other. The whole reason for checks and balances is so that each branch can weigh each other out to where not one has more power than the other. The
b. Articles of Confederation – first constitution of the US adopted during the last stages of the revolutionary war, created a system of government with most power lodged in the states and little in the central government. Ratified in 1781 by requisite number of the states; passed @ second continental congress in 1777
No matter where one goes there will always be a set of rules that govern what behaviors are acceptable, and therefore create a certain society around that. Robert Dahl wrote the essay entitled “Why Democracy?” to explain the effects of government own its citizens. The Midshipman Regulations are no exception to influencing the society of the regiment. They create a society that closely mirrors the society Dahl envisions in his essay. The Midshipman Regulations intentionally create a certain kind of atmosphere that provides an outlet for moral responsibility, to develop as a person, but at the same time restricts numerous freedoms. Dahl’s idea of a democratic society closely follows what the Midshipmen Regulations are trying to create, but would
Every little thing a person does has an impact. Whether it’s only posting something on social media or confronting the problem head-on, what a person does can change anything. While Mother Jones and Saru Jayaraman came face-to-face with solving workers’ rights, Cesar Chavez worked through an organization to get migration farmers better work. Although these individuals used different methods, they all showed leadership and courage to fight for the equality and the safety for others.
Democracy is a form of government. Demokratia is democracy in greek,Demo meaning the people and Kratia meaning power or rule. In ancient greece there were different empires or states with democracy and some did not have democracy at all. For example here in the United States there is democracy not much of democracy but for the most part there is democracy. Using the 4th and 5th century athens was generally a democracy. Even though athens was said to be a democracy they really were not a democracy.
As a first generation Indian-American, I am no stranger to being a part of a distinct community while observing two unique cultures. Traveling to India exposed me to a dynamic population with rich diversity comprising of numerous languages and differing religions. Though these individuals may have had differing customs from their neighbors, there were similar ambitions to conquer grinding poverty. This poverty can be clearly noticed by seeing citizens sleeping on floors of a railway station, or the lack of air conditioning in searing hot weather. The frailty and mortality of the human condition was starkly visible in India. As a fellow human, I was humbled not only by the lack of privilege and opportunity of many citizens, but also by their
People Like Viola Desmond has demonstrated that one person can make a difference with the willpower, determination, and perseverance. It is important to reflect on the stories as they all have great lessons to educate. But the greatest lesson of all is the ability to regulates one's own opinion and give faith to what one believes in without external influences that have setbacks. Like Viola Desmond, we must take a risk or take that leap of faith, in order to succeed as we will always miss the target if we never aim towards it in the first place. Desmond not only having one appeal; as it was her second appeal that won; noting that we must have an open mindset towards all our goals in life. As we fail one day, it does not mean that we won't succeed
An editorial in a Nazi-run German newspaper claimed that blacks in the United States were treated worse than Jews in Germany. Black men and friendly white men were the main targeted group. Whites believed that African Americans deserved to endure harsh brutal lychings mainly behind dealings with a white woman. A black male was lynched for causing any slight discomfort to a white woman whether it was winking at them, looking directly into the face or eyes, failing to distance himself, touching or brushing against a white woman. African American’s issues became more dramatic after reconstruction and entering World War II. During the last decades of the nineteenth century, blacks enjoyed a little social independence, political inclusion, and educational
Through history many people have taken a stand and led a following to make sustainable changes in the future. In Soul of a Citizen, author Paul Loeb tells stories of average citizens who have found unexpected satisfaction in becoming socially and sustainably active. Loeb expresses that we need to make movement from being a bystander in your own life to working to make a difference. Between Muhammad Gandhi, Grace Lee Boggs, and Muhamad Yunus, there are three very different, very solid, and very inspiring sustainably active minds that have drawn the attention of many people all over the world. Their struggles date from 1893 when Gandhi started his movement to 2015 where Muhammad Yunus and Grace Lee Boggs speak out still today. With their teachings
Personally, I believe we need a fraction of the progressive movement incorprated into our current government system. As a young American citizen, with my current knowledge regarding government, I am aware that change is something many people are uncomfortable with, whereas many others demand it as soon as it arrives. There will not be a movement that will satisy every American citizen, however, it is possible to reach an equalibrium which will move America one step forward in the long journey towards a foolproof system. Our Democracy is currently a successful program, although a progressive movement would also increase America's status. Focusing on creating a better quality of life for our citizens and improving many factors of our society
From the early 1840s to the present day, a democracy can be described as a flawed establishment which has been shaped by the power of wealth and control, complex social relations, and most importantly the people’s desire to live a fulfilling life. Throughout this time period the principles of democracy, such as equality, protection of the people’s interest, and promotion of human rights were shifting in order to increase the democracy efficiency. Therefore the continued importance of the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and Constitution remain significant since, in American today, democracy is a system that is continuously being shaped by the people within it.
This paper will critically evaluate the methodology used in Robert Putnam’s Making Democracy Work. By relying on what the methodological arguments that were taught this semester, this paper will discuss and evaluate in detail the various methodological strategies employed by the author. For the ‘Theory’ theme, this paper will examine casual mechanisms (and methodological individualism) topic, closely referencing the course reading Social Mechanisms by Peter Hedstrom and Richard Swedbeg. Next, for the ‘Measurement and Data’ theme, this paper will specifically examine the measurement validity and reliability topic, and will closely reference “Measurement validity: A Shared Standard for qualitative and Quantitative Research” by Robert Adcock and David Colllier. Finally, for the ‘Testing Theory with Data Theory’, this paper will be examining the history as an explanation topic, closely referencing “The Study of Critical Junctures: Theory, Narrative and Counterfactuals in Historical Intuitionalism” by Giovanni Capoccia and Daniel Kelemen, as well as the relevant topic, Quantitative versus Qualitative Methods. The paper will start by summarizing the readings relevant to the topics of the themes, then delve into the pertinent methodology in Putnam’s book.
Since the initiation of the Third Wave of Democracy, several countries have attempted to form a democratic system of governs. We take note that not all have succeeded. At the dawn of this era, democracy was being applied to countries with no prior history of a governing body that was place by the people for the people hence success of such a system could not be guaranteed because of the innumerous variables that existed in each country. People being the highlighted factor of variance, it may become easier to understand how countries such as Pakistan and Nigeria, both countries prior to the Wave had no local governing machinery. Pakistan further endured a partition from India which resulted in not only an instant religious and
In order to answer the question “Can we have too many rights?” There are many things that we must consider, first we must be able to define exactly what rights are, how they work and what they do for citizens and then further into Political and civil rights in the same way as both are essential to the structure of a democracy and play very important roles in enabling citizens to take part in politics and help structure their democracy into something that is for the better. We will also closely examine Robert Dahl, Democracy and its Critics, by first going into a brief description of his opinions in chapters 12 and 13 relating to democracy and how rights affect it. Finally we will deconstruct that argument and find the weaknesses and strengths of his said opinion and come to a conclusion to our original question “Can we have too many rights”
Additionally, in more precarious democratic governments such as India’s, peoples right to power is still recognized. Ronojoy Sen remarks of India’s 2009 elections that, “a handful of successful professionals and entrepreneurs even ran”(cite). Despite implying that only successful peoples were exercising their liberties, elucidated in this article is the potential of any citizen to attain political power, demonstrating true liberal democracy in its purest form. Communism does not give its people these liberties, the party is the “agent for creating political development” (Janos, pg. 2) and there is little need for elections as the outcome is pre-determined. In the case of Nazism, while Hitler utilised democracy to attain power, once in control democracy was replaced with autocracy.